A second floor is being added to the building that holds the Spark Gallery (900 Santa Fe Drive, 720-889-2200), with the idea of creating condos out of the added space. Despite the considerable inconvenience of the construction and the loss of nearly all nearby parking spots to construction workers, though,…

At the entry to the complex of buildings that make up the Lakewood Heritage Center is the Visitors Center, a sleek-looking neo-modern — or would that be neo-moderne? — structure. Designed by Oz Architecture, a firm with offices in Denver and Boulder, it was completed in 2002 and includes a…

About a month ago, the Davis & Shaw building, at 1434 Champa Street, was sold to developer Randy Nichols, who immediately announced that he was planning to build a thirty-story condominium high-rise on the site. This is a genuine tragedy. Davis & Shaw is a high-end furniture retailer that first…

At the beginning of this summer, Eugene Sternberg, one of the greatest of a generation of Denver architects who came to prominence in the post-war period, died at the age of ninety. Sternberg approached the practice of architecture as an intellectual pursuit. He was a utopian who believed in an…

There is a disturbing downward correction happening in the local art world. Pod and Capsule will soon just be Capsule, with the Pod part turning into studios. At the first of the year, Studio Aiello, where the commercial-gallery part of the complex is closing, will be turning most of its…

Simon Zalkind, the director of the Singer Gallery, does such a good job that I often forget that the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture, where the Singer is housed, isn’t an art museum, but rather a community center. This was brought home big-time last week when I saw a…

The Space Gallery (765 Santa Fe Drive, 720-904-1088) is presenting a group show, Embody, that features three emerging Denver artists, all of whom do representational paintings based on the figure. The show begins with portraits and self-portraits from two series by Jason Blamey. In the front are four monumental pieces…

Robischon Gallery has a pair of solos in its front rooms that look so good, they could be the first shows of the fall season — except that it’s a month early. Installed in the entry space and the one behind it is JAMES COLBERT: The Long View; hung in…

There are big changes afoot at Pirate: a contemporary art oasis (3659 Navajo Street, 303-458-6058). The most important one is that the co-op’s longtime home has gotten substantially smaller. Landlords Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer are remodeling the space, putting in new walls, new doors and a new entrance. As…

I well recall the first time I saw Warren Kelly’s work. It was the summer of 2002, and I had found myself at Pirate: a contemporary art oasis. In the main space was a thoroughly amazing and absolutely unforgettable painting solo. I thought to myself, Whoever did these pieces has…

After three years, the commercial-gallery part of Studio Aiello (3563 Walnut Street, 303-297-8166) is giving up the ghost. The business succumbed to sluggish art sales and the disadvantage of an off-the-beaten-track location. On the bright side, other aspects of Studio Aiello, including the Tar Factory Atelier, will still be around,…

Summer used to be the time when the art world all but shut down. The idea was that collectors were on vacation, so why bother with noteworthy exhibits? Directors, curators and dealers would simply throw together a group outing that showed off work by the hottest artists the organizers could…

There’s a funky new art spot in town that has the ridiculous name of Rhinoceropolis (3553 Brighton Boulevard, no phone). The venue recently opened in the old Wheelbarrow space, another funky art spot with a ridiculous name that closed some time ago. Like its predecessor, Rhinoceropolis is held together with…

The last few months have been pretty tough for the Center for Visual Art, the LoDo mini-museum operated by Metropolitan State College of Denver. In a shocking move this past spring, the school’s Republican-dominated board of trustees cut the center’s funding in half (“New Directions,” May 5). No surprise there:…

As I wandered through the Bethany Kriegsman solo, aptly named Treasure Island, at the William Havu Gallery (1040 Cherokee Street, 303-893-2360), it occurred to me that the Golden-based artist just might be the most overlooked first-rate artist in the region. As evidence of this, despite the fact that her show…

The second quarter of the twentieth century can be described as a golden age for Colorado art. Right after World War I, the Broadmoor Academy opened in Colorado Springs, developing a reputation as a nationally significant art school. But this was not the first aesthetic outpost in the Colorado wilderness;…

Though most of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (30 West Dale Street, Colorado Springs, 1-719-634-5581) is taken over by the mammoth Dale Chihuly retrospective, there is another attraction installed in the side gallery just west of the lobby. ATHLETE/WARRIOR is made up of elegant, beautifully printed black-and-white photos of…

In 2001, Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art launched what became the first in a series of biennial exhibits. It was such a good idea, it’s a wonder the Denver Art Museum didn’t think of it first. Having a regular exhibition devoted to local art is compelling because it’s about living…

Whether he likes it or not, Lawrence Argent is going to be associated with the color blue because that’s the color of his gigantic bear, which was only recently installed downtown at the Colorado Convention Center (see review,). Another Denver artist who’s known for his taste for blue is Bryan…

You can’t miss one of downtown’s newest public sculptures: It’s blue, it’s gigantic and it’s a bear. “I See What You Mean,” created by well-known Denver artist Lawrence Argent, is part of the multi-million-dollar art program associated with the expansion of the Colorado Convention Center. The enormous sculpture was installed…

Typically, the show in the main room at Pirate: a Contemporary Art Oasis (3659 Navajo Street, 303-458-6058) has nothing to do with the one in the associates’ space. That’s not the case this time, though. Pirate member Marie E.v.B. Gibbons is a friend of Pirate associate Jimmy Sellars, so the…

Colorado has a strong tradition of producing ceramics. During the early decades of the twentieth century, this was due in large part to the abundance of natural clay. But there’s no simple explanation for why the post-World War II era was such a golden age here, and why so many…